My BLOG about my journey into the invisible world of ultraviolet UV photography, simulated bee, butterfly and animal vision photography and the special lenses, filters and lighting needed to make it work - also in HD video + 3D stereo.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Here a few of my works as shown before, today presented in quadriptych form, which will be on exhibit, also available as large format prints, just for enjoyment for the nice readers here I thought. Please be fair, respect my work and do not download or distribute those around. I don't mind linking, if proper credit is given to me as is visible in each image, but do ask me first please.

Also those comprise some 10 years of intense work to make visible the beauty around us, even if it is invisible to our human eyes. All colors shown are real, there when I pressed the trigger, no photoshopping done except fine adjustments, using specialized cameras, special filters, special lightsources and very special lenses. The differences in colors visiblem results from the different UV reflection of those flowers, some do not reflect at all, or differently in different parts of the flower.

Some insects (butterflies, Bees, ...) and animals (birds, fish, degus,..) can see ultraviolet (UV) light, bees for instance can see Green and Blue and UV, but no RED but butterflies and birds can see Red, Green and Blue and UV, so both can see what we humans cannot see, so I developed an optical mapping method, which allows to simulate, how we would see the world, if we had such special receptive eyes.

Some of my technique is described in my BLOG uvir.eu and I also teach and lecture about that. Ask me if there is some interest, I'm happy to come by!

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Here a few of my works, which will be on exhibit soon and also available as large format prints, just some "eye candy" for the nice readers here I thought. Please be fair, respect my work and do not download or distribute those around. I don't mind linking, if proper credit is given to me as is visible in each image, but do ask me first please.

These comprise some 10 years of intense work to make visible the beauty around us, even if it is invisible to our human eyes. All colors shown are real, there when I pressed the trigger, no photoshopping done except fine adjustments, using specialized cameras, special filters, special lightsources and very special lenses. The differences in colors visiblem results from the different UV reflection of those flowers, some do not reflect at all, or differently in different parts of the flower.

Some insects and animals (birds, fish, degus,..) can see ultraviolet (UV) light, bees for instance can see Green and Blue and UV, but no RED but butterflies and birds can see Red, Green and Blue and UV, so both can see what we humans cannot see, so I developed an optical mapping method, which allows to simulate, how we would see the world, if we had such special receptive eyes.

Some of my technique is described in my BLOG uvir.eu and I also teach and lecture about that. Ask me if there is some interest, I'm happy to come by!

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Today about a comparison of three lenses of 40mm focal length for reflected UV, one a Cooke Triplet (C40), one a Dialyte design (D40), one a complex Sonnar design (S40) whose makers will be revealed here later - or simply contact me about it. The best of the three will also compared against the Kuribayashi 35mm. I'm using a yellow/red Phalaenopsis flower for that and my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter. Light source was an UV enhanced Xenon flash. All shots were done at f8 and are presented in a side-a-side format for easier comparison.

Here the three contestants present themselves side-a-side: It gets obvious, that the Sonnar is the softest of the three and has a bit less UV transmission (the latter had to be expected). The Cooke triplet lens and especially the Dialyte however show some respectable sharpness. So lets's have a closer look at the latter two.

UV image using the Baader-U filter - Cooke left, Dialyte right:

Here, the Dialyte has an edge over the Triplet, quite higher micro-contrast and higher detail reproduction, quite remarkable, considering it is an old prewar lens, and uncoated. So let's see how that Dialyte performs against the Kuribayashi 35mm.

Here now it is hard to choose a winner, as both have very high sharpness and contrast, quite remarkable considering their age difference. I'm undicided honestly.

Transmission graph:

The Triplet is represented by a yellow line, the Dialyte by a reddish brown line, the Sonnar by a blue line and finally the Kuribayashi by a pink line. Transmisson of all lenses is quite high, at 365nm Sonnar: 60%, Dialyte: 64%, Triplet: 70% and finally the Kuribayashi 77%. Their reach into UV is quite remarkable, the Kuribayashi and Dialyte having the deepest, Triplet surprisingly the least, maybe caused by its bluish coating. So overall, some remarkable lenses for reflected UV.

Today again about a simple, but UV capable enlarger lens of 35mm focal length. I have done a similar enlarger lens comparison for a 100mm lens here and here and a comparison for 50mm lenses previously here. I'm using a yellow/red Phalaenopsis flower for that and my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter plus the deeper reaching Jupiter-U filter. The maker of that simple triplet enlarger lens will be revealed here later - or simply contact me about it. Light source was an UV enhanced Xenon flash. All shots were done at f8 and are presented in a side-a-side format for easier comparison.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Images showing on the left a visible light image and on the right using the Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm, effective peak approx. 375nm):

UV images using shown on the left the Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm, effective peak approx. 375nm) and on the right my Jupiter-U filter (approx. 280-385nm, effective peak approx. 365nm):

UV detail images using shown on the left the Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm, effective peak approx. 375nm) and on the right my Jupiter-U filter (approx. 280-385nm, effective peak approx. 365nm):

Transmission graph:

Well, this little lens performs acceptably well, seemingly has quite a high UV transmission of about 80% and quite a deep reach into the UV region to about 320nm (white line), compared to my new standard 35mm lens (green line), the Kuribayashi 35mm. I also tested a rebadged version under a different moniker (pink line) which seems to perform about identical.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Today about some early spring flowers, here Anemone narcissiflora (most likely, but looks like a white variant of Liverwort "Anemone hepatica") in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter as well as my XBV filters for simulating butterfly and bee vision. Lens was a CERCO 94mm quartz fluorite lens. Light source was sunlight. All shots were done at about f5.6. So, on to the results now...

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Today about some early spring flowers, here Crocus (Crocus sp.) in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter. Lens was a CERCO 94mm quartz fluorite lens. Light source was sunlight. All shots were done at about f5.6. So, on to the results now...

Today about some early spring flowers, here Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter as well as my XBV filters for simulating butterfly and bee vision. Lens was a CERCO 94mm quartz fluorite lens. Light source was sunlight. All shots were done at about f5.6. So, on to the results now...

Winter Aconite has a prominent UV pattern, its center (anthers, stamen) is UV dark, and the petal ground seems to have some highly reflecting spots radially centered around the stamen which gets nicely visible.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Today about the same early spring Irises shot in reflected ultraviolet photography that I had shown before when shot with the Cerco quartz fluorite lens. Filter used was my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter. Lens used was an old 100mm enlarger lens. Light source was the last sunrays of that wonderful spring Sunday. All shots were done at about f8. So, on to the results now...

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Today about some early spring Irises in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter. Lens was a CERCO 94mm quartz fluorite lens. Light source was the last sunrays of that wonderful spring Sunday. All shots were done at about f5.6. So, on to the results now...

About Me

This is my blog about my film and photographic work in 3D, ultraviolet UV, infrared IR and fluorescence using special lenses and equipment. All text and images carry my copyright and I do not allow to link to or copy / download from my site or any parts thereof without my prior permission.
email me in case of questions or interest in my images (esp. for non-profit orgs) or if you need a complete camera + lens + filter + light set for UV photography:
postmaster AT macrolenses.de